Emergency flood relief for villages in Tamil Nadu

Thanks to the generous additional funding provided by Global Giving, our partner in Tamil Nadu has started its work aimed at tackling the long-term impact of the devastating floods on the affected communities. This work is focused on two areas: supporting women to establish livelihood work and education support for children.

The livelihood project is teaching women how to tailor clothes with sewing machines provided by the local government. The project is targeting widows or abandoned women, poor families with girl children and those with disabilities. By providing the opportunity for the women to upskill this will give them a greater income which will enable them to better cope with emergencies if they arise again. Bringing income into the family also helps women to have greater decision-making powers.  One of the women told us, "This support is very useful to me; other supported organizations didn't give this kind of help. It is essential for me to manage my family in difficult times."

The education project is helping children affected by the flooding. It deals with the psychological impact, provides educational kits to replace lost and damaged items and gives summer training to ensure children have caught up with schooling they have missed. This project held a 5 day camp for 115 children last month which they really enjoyed, particularly the opportunity to participate in drama activities.  

Thanks to your generous support, which has been matched by Global Giving, our partner has been busy working in Tamil Nadu to provide flood relief efforts for those most affected by the crisis in late last year. Alongside emergency provisions, the additional funding given by GlobalGiving has enabled us to also provide school supplies and create a livelihood opportunity for women affected.

In the initial period of the flood, people needed to overcome from their shock and depression. Normally those districts village people depend on their daily wage work. The flood not only leads to loss of wages but it also lead to a loss of their essential things, books, certificates, etc.

Our team on the ground reached 53 remote villages working specifically with deprived women who struggle to access government support. They have worked with 2020 beneficiaries. 

The immediate relief kit consisted of 1kg rice, 1kg wheat, 0.5kg sugar, 0.5kg wheat flour, What broken ½ kg, half kg  block gram, biscuit one packet, blankets, necessary medicines, dress materials, drinking water, milk powder, napkins, mats, mosquito repellents and bread. The team have also supported those affected to access ration cards and get copies of school certificates and other essential documentations.

Due to the additional funding, we've been able to offer long term support by starting to set up a tailoring unit for 30 women. This is being completed in partnership with Usha International, a tailoring machine company, which is providing 7 days residential training for women, teaching them how to make 21 varieties of dress. This will give the women long-term sustainable incomes. The women will also train other women in their village to make these dresses, eventually impacting on 600 women. 

The funding is also being used to provide additional educational resources for children affected. We will run a summer camp to address the psychological impact of the floods and give the children the opportunity to develop their skills  like drawing, speaking, handwriting, spoken English, and so on. 120 children have also been provided with an education kit of one school bag, stationary items (Pen, Pencil, geometry box, eraser, scale, sharpener, etc) and notebooks.

 Life has really started to turn a corner for the communities, thank you for all your support which has enabled us to make this happen.